"Aro mai, aro atu, arohā"
Aro are a New Zealand jazz-pop, husband and wife duo made up of Charles (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Waikato, Te Ati Awa) and Emily Looker (nee Rice). The pair have packed up their life into a van and are on a Aoteroa-wide tour.
NATIONWIDE TOUR DATES
March 9th | Leigh Sawmill | w. The Low Low | Leigh | TICKETS
March 14th | Butter Factory | Whangarei | Koha
March 15th | Milk & Honey | Whangarei | Koha
March 18th | Deep Dreek Brewery | Browns Bay | Free Show
March 25th | The Bunker | Auckland | $10 on the door
April 1st | Tairua Beach Club | Tairua | Free Show with set menu
April 2nd | The Old Mill House | Tairua | Free Show
April 7th | Paisley Stage | Napier | $10 on the door
April 11th | Meow | w. Arcee Rapper | Wellington | $10 on the door
April 29th | Blue Smoke | Christchurch | Koha
May 4th | Dee’s Cafe | Dunedin | $10 on the door
May 6th | Bellamy’s Gallery | Dunedin | $10 on the door
May 11th | Drunken Octopus | Stewart Island | $10 on the door
May 13th | Level One Bar | Invercargill | Dine & Listen for free
May 16th | World Bar | Queenstown | Free show
May 18th | Sombrero’s | Free show
May 19th | Queenstown Market 1-3pm | Queenstown
May 19th | Sherwood | W. Nicole Andrews | Queenstown | TICKETS
May 25th | Pub on the Wharf | Queenstown | Free Show
May 26th | Muskets & Moonshine | Queenstown | Free Show
June dates to be announced soon
Last July, Aro released their debut 'Aro EP' (28/07/2017), four tracks that talk about their newly-wed love for each other and of their life together.
Since then, the pair have ditched their full time jobs to live in a van and pursue music. They came up with the idea to call their duo 'Aro' because of the conversation they feel sharing music brings. "Aro" is to face and to be faced. They're all about connecting with people, sharing stories and hearing stories, and all done in love. "Aro mai, Aro atu, Aroha".
Their first summer was spent on the road playing from campground to campground, gig to gig around the north island completing their debut campground tour; where the couple exchanged music for a few nights accommodation at some of the most buzzing kiwi campgrounds, bringing people together around songs and stories.
The nationwide tour begins at Leigh Sawmill on Friday 9th of April where they’ll be joined by local band “The Low Low”. With over 25 gig's booked, the van-dwelling duo are taking their music all over Aotearoa, venturing as far south as Stewart Island and back to the top.
As well as working on an album due to release in Summer 2018/2019, Aro are creating their ‘Van Jams’; quirky videos recorded live from their van (Jamba).